Chapter8 ~Three kinds of stride mechanics~
As I wrote in chapter8, there are three kinds of stride mechanics: automatic stride, double tap, and leg lift. Here, let me put on three movies that contain their typical examples.
movie1: automatic-stride style
movie2: double-tap style
movie3: leg-lift style
(1) Automatic-Stride Style
The simplest way of hitting among all kinds of hitting mechanics. Once you make the batting stance, there is only one thing you have to do, that is, "boom!" ーstride, weight transfer, and separation occurs automatically.
(2) Double-Tap Style
The landing point of the first stride is its start-up position, and the following mechanics is the same as that of automatic-stride style. In other words, the second stride is an automatic stride.
(3) Leg-Lift Style
Regardless of how much height the front leg is lifted, if the hitter lifts the front leg before starting up, it should be classified into leg-lift style. One of the most important thing of this style is to start up before the separation is formed because it occurs automatically as a result of starting up.
From here, let me write on their traits in every aspect of hitting skills.
(1) Mechanics
As I wrote in chapter3 (see figure1), pursuing ether one type is very important from the viewpoint of puncher-swinger classification theory.
figure1
In puncher-type mechanics, any slight weight transfer before starting up is unfavorable because it should be done as a result of starting up that is accompanying lower-half's muscle contraction due to APA. Preceding weight transfer is not only an unnecessary thing in puncher-type mechanics, but also can worsen the mechanics, making it closer to swinger-type mechanics.
Leg-lift style and double-tap style are easier to induce that unnecessary, preceding weight transfer than automatic-stride style that can eliminate it completely. So automatic-stride style is the best one when seeing it purely from the mechanical viewpoint.
(2) Power
Basically, there is no power difference between those three styles. However, they have different trait and tendency respectively as I write below.
Leg-lift style: It should be the easiest way for most hitters to hit balls far away with this style. However, there is slight lack of stability and repeatability, though I can't deny the possibility that the leg-lift style can generate the largest power between the three styles when all conditions are met and fulfilled.
Automatic-stride style: On the contrary to the case of leg-lift style, most hitters might find it hard to generate their maximum power with this style, especially in the initial period of learning it. Still, I believe that the automatic-style is mechanically ideal and therefore, it has the possibility of maximizing your power if you could become a highly-skilled automatic strider.
Double-tap style: Cecil fielder and Sammy Sosa had been in this category, so this style also has the potential for maximizing your power. However, there is one point you should know about this style ーsee figure2.
Figure2
When a hitter stands on the toe of his front leg, the knee is forced to stick out and it inevitably causes the rear leg's knee to stick out too in conjunction with the front leg's knee. As a result, the hamstrings come to not be able to work strongly. Therefore, in the double-tap style, toe standing can diminish your power.
(3) Timing
This particularly is a worth considering theme when thinking about stride mechanics, and there is an unexpected fact I must tell you ーsee figure3 that expresses the start-up position and landing point in the three deferent stride mechanics.
figure3
As you can see in figure3, automatic-stride and double-tap style must raise the front leg and get it down after the start-up position while leg-lift style only has to get down it, which means leg-lift style can shorten the time from the start up to landing. It further means that leg-lift style can start up in the latest timing among the three styles. Figure4 is expressing the start-up position in the three stride mechanics by monochrome frames.
figure4
As you see in figure4, only leg-lift style can start up after the pitch is released, which means it can see balls to judge in more relaxed state than the other two styles. Thanks to this advantage, leg-lift hitters generally have high ability for adjusting to timing lags between fastballs and breaking balls. They can start up after watching whether the ball is a fastball or breaking ball. In contrast, automatic-stride and double-tap hitters ーboth of them use the automatic-strideー have to start up before the pitches are released, and therefore, they are forced to start up in somewhat gambling conditions.
Leg-lift style, however, can weaken your power on the contrary of its image because it's not mechanically ideal in the case of puncher type, and if you want to generate a big power with this style, you must do a dynamic leg kick that brings about the lack of stability.
Considering above facts, I can get it why Miguel Cabrera has been able to earn that high stats. He doesn't carry balls so far but is skilled in "time managing" to the pitches at the box.
figure5: Miguel Cabrera and his start-up position
In my opinion, he puts premium on timing and contacting, saving the power slightly with his rich physical strength ーone of the effective tactics to do well in baseball hitting.
(4) Easiness
The most simplest way is the automatic-stride style. However, it might be difficult for most hitters to do well with that style because swinging without preceding weight shift is not that easy. So, they probably find the leg-lift style to be the easiest way. Based on that logic, the following can be said: changing your mechanics from the automatic-stride style to the leg-lift style is easy but the opposite course isn't easy ーsee figure6.
figure6
What I want to say from this point is the importance of the automatic-stride style. Automatic stride is basic, core, and ultimate mechanics in the puncher type, but it's difficult to change from the other two styles to the automatic-stride style. This indicates that you should keep the feeling of automatic stride and doing it on a daily bases whether you adopt it or not for your actual-game use. To sum it up, hitters who adopt double tap or leg lift should do automatic stride as a hitting drill in their daily practices. This may keep your mechanics healthy.
(5) Batting stance
Suitable batting stance varies between the three stride styles, as I express in figure7.
figure7
The points to look at in figure7 are width and height of the stance, and I express it in figure8 for more easy comprehension.
figure8
This is because the double-tap and leg-lift style need preceding backward weight shift to use the rear leg as the "power leg" unlike the automatic-stride style that means to stand on both of the feet at the start-up position.
So, if you take a wide batting stance in the double-tap or leg-lift style, you are forced to take a backward stride widely, which brings about instability and some unfavorable effects to the following mechanics.
〜Conclusion〜
Being mechanically ideal and being able to earn the best possible result are not always the same matter. More specifically, a way by which you can use your whole body effectively and efficiently to accelerate the bat as fast as possible without injuring is NOT always the same way by which you can get as higher stats as possible in actual baseball games. Baseball rules don't allow an ideal "mechanics" to be an ideal "way" unless some adjustments are added on it. Let me cite two examples of this issue.
(1) time and distance condition
There are various speeds of pitches in a certain distance like figure9, and a mechanics that can adjust to the widest time range is the leg-lift one that isn't mechanically ideal as I wrote above in this page.
figure9
(2) weight of bats
Baseball bats are not that light to most hitters in almost all categories. From the anatomical and mechanical view points, the optimal bat angle in the batting stance is like figure10.
figure10
However, this bat angle makes you feel the bat heavy by the leverage effect like figure11. As a result, your arms' muscles are likely to get strain and tired in the batting stance, which robs your swing of flexibility.
figure11
Therefore, the mechanically ideal batting stance is NOT an practically ideal batting stance to get the best possible results in the games.
So, what should we do?
Someone can succeed by pursuing to be mechanically ideal while someone can succeed by putting emphasis on game adjusting. This is a reason why there are so many kinds of successful hitting mechanics in the world ーany theory should not be able to decide that a certain mechanics is the most optimal way equally to everyone to get succeeded.
However, being mechanically ideal is still very variable to all hitters because it helps them to keep the mechanics healthy, enabling to retain good condition and stats for a long period of time.
In conclusion, I want to urge you to do automatic stride at least as a hitting drill after choosing your own style for the game use on your own. This will help you keep your mechanics in good shape even if you use the leg-lift or double-tap style in the games ーsee movie4 as a reference for the hitting drill with automatic stride.
movie4
As I wrote in chapter8, there are three kinds of stride mechanics: automatic stride, double tap, and leg lift. Here, let me put on three movies that contain their typical examples.
movie1: automatic-stride style
movie2: double-tap style
movie3: leg-lift style
(1) Automatic-Stride Style
The simplest way of hitting among all kinds of hitting mechanics. Once you make the batting stance, there is only one thing you have to do, that is, "boom!" ーstride, weight transfer, and separation occurs automatically.
(2) Double-Tap Style
The landing point of the first stride is its start-up position, and the following mechanics is the same as that of automatic-stride style. In other words, the second stride is an automatic stride.
(3) Leg-Lift Style
Regardless of how much height the front leg is lifted, if the hitter lifts the front leg before starting up, it should be classified into leg-lift style. One of the most important thing of this style is to start up before the separation is formed because it occurs automatically as a result of starting up.
From here, let me write on their traits in every aspect of hitting skills.
(1) Mechanics
As I wrote in chapter3 (see figure1), pursuing ether one type is very important from the viewpoint of puncher-swinger classification theory.
figure1
In puncher-type mechanics, any slight weight transfer before starting up is unfavorable because it should be done as a result of starting up that is accompanying lower-half's muscle contraction due to APA. Preceding weight transfer is not only an unnecessary thing in puncher-type mechanics, but also can worsen the mechanics, making it closer to swinger-type mechanics.
Leg-lift style and double-tap style are easier to induce that unnecessary, preceding weight transfer than automatic-stride style that can eliminate it completely. So automatic-stride style is the best one when seeing it purely from the mechanical viewpoint.
(2) Power
Basically, there is no power difference between those three styles. However, they have different trait and tendency respectively as I write below.
Leg-lift style: It should be the easiest way for most hitters to hit balls far away with this style. However, there is slight lack of stability and repeatability, though I can't deny the possibility that the leg-lift style can generate the largest power between the three styles when all conditions are met and fulfilled.
Automatic-stride style: On the contrary to the case of leg-lift style, most hitters might find it hard to generate their maximum power with this style, especially in the initial period of learning it. Still, I believe that the automatic-style is mechanically ideal and therefore, it has the possibility of maximizing your power if you could become a highly-skilled automatic strider.
Double-tap style: Cecil fielder and Sammy Sosa had been in this category, so this style also has the potential for maximizing your power. However, there is one point you should know about this style ーsee figure2.
Figure2
When a hitter stands on the toe of his front leg, the knee is forced to stick out and it inevitably causes the rear leg's knee to stick out too in conjunction with the front leg's knee. As a result, the hamstrings come to not be able to work strongly. Therefore, in the double-tap style, toe standing can diminish your power.
(3) Timing
This particularly is a worth considering theme when thinking about stride mechanics, and there is an unexpected fact I must tell you ーsee figure3 that expresses the start-up position and landing point in the three deferent stride mechanics.
figure3
As you can see in figure3, automatic-stride and double-tap style must raise the front leg and get it down after the start-up position while leg-lift style only has to get down it, which means leg-lift style can shorten the time from the start up to landing. It further means that leg-lift style can start up in the latest timing among the three styles. Figure4 is expressing the start-up position in the three stride mechanics by monochrome frames.
figure4
As you see in figure4, only leg-lift style can start up after the pitch is released, which means it can see balls to judge in more relaxed state than the other two styles. Thanks to this advantage, leg-lift hitters generally have high ability for adjusting to timing lags between fastballs and breaking balls. They can start up after watching whether the ball is a fastball or breaking ball. In contrast, automatic-stride and double-tap hitters ーboth of them use the automatic-strideー have to start up before the pitches are released, and therefore, they are forced to start up in somewhat gambling conditions.
Leg-lift style, however, can weaken your power on the contrary of its image because it's not mechanically ideal in the case of puncher type, and if you want to generate a big power with this style, you must do a dynamic leg kick that brings about the lack of stability.
Considering above facts, I can get it why Miguel Cabrera has been able to earn that high stats. He doesn't carry balls so far but is skilled in "time managing" to the pitches at the box.
figure5: Miguel Cabrera and his start-up position
In my opinion, he puts premium on timing and contacting, saving the power slightly with his rich physical strength ーone of the effective tactics to do well in baseball hitting.
(4) Easiness
The most simplest way is the automatic-stride style. However, it might be difficult for most hitters to do well with that style because swinging without preceding weight shift is not that easy. So, they probably find the leg-lift style to be the easiest way. Based on that logic, the following can be said: changing your mechanics from the automatic-stride style to the leg-lift style is easy but the opposite course isn't easy ーsee figure6.
figure6
What I want to say from this point is the importance of the automatic-stride style. Automatic stride is basic, core, and ultimate mechanics in the puncher type, but it's difficult to change from the other two styles to the automatic-stride style. This indicates that you should keep the feeling of automatic stride and doing it on a daily bases whether you adopt it or not for your actual-game use. To sum it up, hitters who adopt double tap or leg lift should do automatic stride as a hitting drill in their daily practices. This may keep your mechanics healthy.
(5) Batting stance
Suitable batting stance varies between the three stride styles, as I express in figure7.
figure7
The points to look at in figure7 are width and height of the stance, and I express it in figure8 for more easy comprehension.
figure8
This is because the double-tap and leg-lift style need preceding backward weight shift to use the rear leg as the "power leg" unlike the automatic-stride style that means to stand on both of the feet at the start-up position.
So, if you take a wide batting stance in the double-tap or leg-lift style, you are forced to take a backward stride widely, which brings about instability and some unfavorable effects to the following mechanics.
〜Conclusion〜
Being mechanically ideal and being able to earn the best possible result are not always the same matter. More specifically, a way by which you can use your whole body effectively and efficiently to accelerate the bat as fast as possible without injuring is NOT always the same way by which you can get as higher stats as possible in actual baseball games. Baseball rules don't allow an ideal "mechanics" to be an ideal "way" unless some adjustments are added on it. Let me cite two examples of this issue.
(1) time and distance condition
There are various speeds of pitches in a certain distance like figure9, and a mechanics that can adjust to the widest time range is the leg-lift one that isn't mechanically ideal as I wrote above in this page.
figure9
(2) weight of bats
Baseball bats are not that light to most hitters in almost all categories. From the anatomical and mechanical view points, the optimal bat angle in the batting stance is like figure10.
figure10
However, this bat angle makes you feel the bat heavy by the leverage effect like figure11. As a result, your arms' muscles are likely to get strain and tired in the batting stance, which robs your swing of flexibility.
figure11
Therefore, the mechanically ideal batting stance is NOT an practically ideal batting stance to get the best possible results in the games.
So, what should we do?
Someone can succeed by pursuing to be mechanically ideal while someone can succeed by putting emphasis on game adjusting. This is a reason why there are so many kinds of successful hitting mechanics in the world ーany theory should not be able to decide that a certain mechanics is the most optimal way equally to everyone to get succeeded.
However, being mechanically ideal is still very variable to all hitters because it helps them to keep the mechanics healthy, enabling to retain good condition and stats for a long period of time.
In conclusion, I want to urge you to do automatic stride at least as a hitting drill after choosing your own style for the game use on your own. This will help you keep your mechanics in good shape even if you use the leg-lift or double-tap style in the games ーsee movie4 as a reference for the hitting drill with automatic stride.
movie4